What elements of the game of school are you seeing in your placements?
Unfortunately, I see quite a bit of the game of school not only in my placement but in my previous practicums, at my job at an afterschool program, and in my own education. Like Fried states, this is not because these teachers are mean, ignorant, vengeful, etc. In fact, my current CT is kind and caring towards her students and very knowledgeable and passionate about her subject matter, but I see her and the students participate in aspects of the GoS every day. Like I mentioned in previous entries, maintaining order in the class and keeping on schedule is of utmost importance, sometimes at the expense of student’s curiosity/interest in something still science related but not on the syllabus. I imagine that this is probably because my CT and other teachers I’ve had in the past feel pressure to “cover” what they think is required of them and to ensure that their students will perform on standardized tests. I also agree with Fried, that many teachers run their classrooms in this way just to avoid going crazy, by participating in the GoS they are able to keep their students under control and keep themselves from burning out. I see that students are conditioned into performing the routine of doing the “Do Now” and then waiting quietly to complete their classwork, which as long as it appears complete (who cares if you came to the correct answer, you are rewarded for writing anything at all) and was done quietly, you get a check in the gradebook.
How have you seen teachers fight the game of school in their classes? AND What features can you plan into your units that might discourage the GOS?
A key part to the GoS is that students are rewarded just for “showing up.” In my unit and it my future classes, I will have to find a way to evaluate students where quietly doing the minimum does not mean you pass the assignment. In my own experience as a student, I find that I was motivated to do an assignment beyond just getting a good grade when I “owned” the assignment. I think that giving students a choice in what they must do to show they have met a standard, or even letting them design their own assignments is a way to intrinsically motivate many students. I also think that letting the students know that you want to hear their true voices, not what they think you want to hear, and rewarding them for original, creative thought is crucial to not participating in the GoS. In the long run, when these students go on to become scientists, authors, architects, businesspeople, etc., their success will be defined by their creativity, ambition, and originality, so why not start rewarding them for these things at school?
Finally, what impact will this description of the GOS have on your own approach to teaching as expressed in your teaching philosophy? One way I think the GoS has really impacted me in my own life is that all throughout school, I rarely had to think creatively for myself. In high school I was one of those “A students” mentioned by Fried that was driven to get good grades and could anticipate what the teacher wanted to hear and fed it right back to them. Only in classes where “what the teacher wanted to hear” was my own voice did I exhibit true creativity or participate in meaningful learning. While this got me an almost perfect GPA throughout high school and college, as I begin to approach the “real world”, I can’t help but feel somewhat unprepared. Now that I’m nearing the stage where I no longer have to turn my work into a teacher or professor, I struggle with what to produce. I feel uneasy about the fact that my merit will no longer be based on a multiple choice test, which I learned to ace by 7th grade, but instead on how I actually perform as an educator of youth. It is my goal to play the game in my own classes as little as possible, so that my students don’t feel cheated by the educational system in the same ways as I do now. In reading this chapter it dawned on me how many similar readings, articles, documentaries, etc. about the GoS professors have presented to us in our EDC classes. In our post-reading discussions, everybody always vows not to become that sort of teacher, either sincerely or as a move in the GoS to increase their participation grade. Clearly, there is a disconnect from when these teachers-to-be make these vows to when they actually become practicing teachers, since the GoS is still so prevalent today. Like Fried, I do not blame these teachers or write them off as the “bad ones” since there are so many pressures that seem to force teachers into playing the game. I hope that by being aware of these pressures, and by being aware that just because they exist does not mean I must submit to playing the game of school, I will be able to resist perpetuating the game in my classes as much as possible.
Unfortunately, I see quite a bit of the game of school not only in my placement but in my previous practicums, at my job at an afterschool program, and in my own education. Like Fried states, this is not because these teachers are mean, ignorant, vengeful, etc. In fact, my current CT is kind and caring towards her students and very knowledgeable and passionate about her subject matter, but I see her and the students participate in aspects of the GoS every day. Like I mentioned in previous entries, maintaining order in the class and keeping on schedule is of utmost importance, sometimes at the expense of student’s curiosity/interest in something still science related but not on the syllabus. I imagine that this is probably because my CT and other teachers I’ve had in the past feel pressure to “cover” what they think is required of them and to ensure that their students will perform on standardized tests. I also agree with Fried, that many teachers run their classrooms in this way just to avoid going crazy, by participating in the GoS they are able to keep their students under control and keep themselves from burning out. I see that students are conditioned into performing the routine of doing the “Do Now” and then waiting quietly to complete their classwork, which as long as it appears complete (who cares if you came to the correct answer, you are rewarded for writing anything at all) and was done quietly, you get a check in the gradebook.
How have you seen teachers fight the game of school in their classes? AND What features can you plan into your units that might discourage the GOS?
A key part to the GoS is that students are rewarded just for “showing up.” In my unit and it my future classes, I will have to find a way to evaluate students where quietly doing the minimum does not mean you pass the assignment. In my own experience as a student, I find that I was motivated to do an assignment beyond just getting a good grade when I “owned” the assignment. I think that giving students a choice in what they must do to show they have met a standard, or even letting them design their own assignments is a way to intrinsically motivate many students. I also think that letting the students know that you want to hear their true voices, not what they think you want to hear, and rewarding them for original, creative thought is crucial to not participating in the GoS. In the long run, when these students go on to become scientists, authors, architects, businesspeople, etc., their success will be defined by their creativity, ambition, and originality, so why not start rewarding them for these things at school?
Finally, what impact will this description of the GOS have on your own approach to teaching as expressed in your teaching philosophy?
One way I think the GoS has really impacted me in my own life is that all throughout school, I rarely had to think creatively for myself. In high school I was one of those “A students” mentioned by Fried that was driven to get good grades and could anticipate what the teacher wanted to hear and fed it right back to them. Only in classes where “what the teacher wanted to hear” was my own voice did I exhibit true creativity or participate in meaningful learning. While this got me an almost perfect GPA throughout high school and college, as I begin to approach the “real world”, I can’t help but feel somewhat unprepared. Now that I’m nearing the stage where I no longer have to turn my work into a teacher or professor, I struggle with what to produce. I feel uneasy about the fact that my merit will no longer be based on a multiple choice test, which I learned to ace by 7th grade, but instead on how I actually perform as an educator of youth. It is my goal to play the game in my own classes as little as possible, so that my students don’t feel cheated by the educational system in the same ways as I do now. In reading this chapter it dawned on me how many similar readings, articles, documentaries, etc. about the GoS professors have presented to us in our EDC classes. In our post-reading discussions, everybody always vows not to become that sort of teacher, either sincerely or as a move in the GoS to increase their participation grade. Clearly, there is a disconnect from when these teachers-to-be make these vows to when they actually become practicing teachers, since the GoS is still so prevalent today. Like Fried, I do not blame these teachers or write them off as the “bad ones” since there are so many pressures that seem to force teachers into playing the game. I hope that by being aware of these pressures, and by being aware that just because they exist does not mean I must submit to playing the game of school, I will be able to resist perpetuating the game in my classes as much as possible.